The present invention relates to a outside door handle assembly for a vehicle.
As a conventional outside door handle assembly, there has been known an apparatus or assembly disclosed in a new model car manual "NISSAN INFINITY Q45" issued by NISSAN MOTOR COMPANY on October 1989.
The conventional assembly is structured such as to include a case mounted to a vehicle door, a handle rotatably supported on the case and having a grip portion and a pair of supporting arms extending from the grip portion, a balance weight disposed between the pair of supporting arms in such a manner as to oppose to the grip portion with respect to a rotational center of the handle and fixed to the pair of supporting arms at both ends thereof, the balance weight having substantially the same weight as that of the grip portion, and an operation portion mounted to one of the pair of supporting arms so as to operate a door lock mechanism or apparatus for opening or closing the vehicle door.
Further, in the conventional apparatus, it is structured such that the operation portion mounted on the supporting arm is moved by gripping the grip portion and then rotating the handle with respect to the case, so that the door lock apparatus is operated to open the door. Further, in the case that an inertia force of the direction rotating the handle is applied at a time of vehicle collision, the grip portion and the balance weight are well balanced, so that the inertia force prevents the handle from rotating and the door from accidentally opening.
However, in the conventional apparatus mentioned above, since the balance weight and the operation portion is mounted to different portions of the supporting portion, the supporting arm becomes large and the number of the parts is increased, so that there is a fear that the assembling operation becomes complex and the cost therefor becomes disadvantageously high.